Death Note, Volume 3: Hard Run

Light secured a terrible blow to the police effort by managing to kill 12 FBI agents in Japan without getting caught. Furthermore, Naomi Misora has seemingly vanished, and the tips she wished to share with the police effort that would have guaranteed Kira's demise were not delivered.

But L is relentless and continues to suspect Light's involvement with the crimes. His tactic? To hide from the shadows and pretend to be a college student to get closer to Light under a fake name to lure him into a trap.

While Light wonders whether L/Ryuuzaki is just a scapegoat or the true L, a second Kira has appeared and will cause a power rift that could cause problems for Light.

While I know beforehand L's stint in college in the greater sense of the show more whole manga is too brief to cause any real impact in the plot, I liked his boldness, his relentless quirks, poor fashion sense, and the pecking love/hate/mutual respect relationship he develops with Light in this volume. He has grown tired of hiding and is risking his own life in order to force Light to make a mistake.

I did find this volume to get slow at times, and the appearance of the second Kira was a bit too rushed for my taste. However, it's still a rock solid volume. 4 1/2 stars. show less

I've never once considered finding that notebook and gaining this power a misfortune. In fact, it's made me happier than I've ever been. And I'm going to create a perfect world.

Light continues to be a psychopath. Light's dad continues to be a total badass. L continues to actually live up to his reputation at his own funky pace. This serious continues to be a lot of fun. I have trepidation about the reveal from that last set of panels and the fact that the next volume is entitled Love, but let's see how it goes, right?

Picking up from vol. 2, this volume of Death Note opens with Light being closely scrutinzed by L and the task force. What they can't see, however, is Ryuk, the shinigami. Though he's supposed to be a neutral party, Ryuk's love of apples has gotten the best of him, and Light is able to blackmail him into helping outwit the police. However, L realizes that Light is one of the most promising suspects, and continues to follow and challenge him. As the two confront each other face to face, one of Kira's supporters decides to take action.

This volume pokes a little fun at itself, despite the story's serious tone. L recognizes that the Yagami household is so squeaky clean (in appearance as well as attitudes) that it's cause for suspicion. Light show more makes a joke at one point about second and third guessing Kira and L's actions. Ryuk also lends a little comedy to the story (apparently shinigami's withdrawal symptons involve knotting up like a pretzel).

We also get to see a different side of Light; when L personally confronts him, Light becomes frustrated and violent. Though he believes that finding the Death Note has made him truly happy, we see the incredible stress taking its toll, as well as Light's need to win. For the first time since Ryuk's appearance, Light seems to be cracking. We also get to see how Light reacts to tragedy and accusations within his own family. It's hard to tell at this point if he's protective of his family members, or it's all part of the act.

Still a great series... I can't wait to see more about Misa. show less

Still loving the back and forth of Light and L. Exquisite chess and rationale.

So the chase continues! I liked the interplay among all the characters and how they dance around the issue of finding Kira/avoid getting caught.

That being said, though I really like L, I also find his character to be a tad bit annoying. I think he and the NPA need to move faster.

The ending was really interesting and the added element of a second Kira should make things even more fun in the following volumes.

Hard Run is the third volume in the Death Note manga series, collecting chapters seventeen through twenty-five. Hard Run, along with the first two collected volumes (Boredom and Confluence), was included on the Top Ten list of the 2007 American Library Association's Great Graphic Novels for Teens. This is not to say that older audiences won't enjoy the series as well--its sophistication is sure to win the appreciation of many adult readers in addition to teens.

Despite being the main suspect in the Kira case, Light has so far been able to avoid leaving any concrete evidence leading to him as the killer of criminals worldwide. In fact, his alibis come across as being too perfect and L, the brilliant detective heading the case, becomes show more even more interested in him. So much so that he follows Light as he begins college, posing as a fellow student. Surprisingly, he ultimately reveals his identity and invites Light to join the investigation even though he is suspected to be Kira. But the battle of wits is cut short, or at least put on hold, due to a family emergency. It appears another Death Note may have been dropped and now there is a second Kira on the loose.

Hard Run was a little more quickly paced than the previous volume, Confluence. Light and L still seem fairly equally matched, but when it looks like the eccentric investigator might be starting to get the upper hand, the possibility of a Kira copycat complicates everything for both him and Light. The introduction of a second Death Note in the human realm ensures the continued complexity of this series and I expect that things will be kicked up another notch at least in the upcoming volumes.

Death Note is a popular manga series, and for good reason. It's smart, well drawn, and complex. The characters are engaging and the story addicting. I am fascinated by Light and how his obsession with creating a perfect world is steadily corrupting him. L still is a bit creepy although I am beginning to get used to his bizarre behavior. Ryuk (a Shinigami death god and original owner of Light's Death Note, which he dropped out of boredom) continues to amuse me, especially in regards to his supposed apathy and his delight in the whole situation. I remain impressed with this series and definitely look forward to reading the next volume, Love.

Experiments in Reading show less

This review is also on my blog at: http://abnormallyparanormal.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-death-note-vol-3-by-tsug...

This review contains spoilers for the first two volumes of Death Note, plus the third one, of which I'm reviewing here. Don't read this review unless you want to know what happens before you read it.

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

This is the best volume so far! If Death Note had been moving along at a sort of slow pace up until now, that's all changed. So many exciting things happened, I was laughing my head off in some parts and freaking out during others. It goes to show you that it really is a high drama—very much a thriller.

It starts off with Light having Ryuuk, his shinigami death god, search for all the hidden cameras in his show more bedroom, so that he'll be able to feed him apples. That's Ryuuk's addiction, like humans and tobacco. Once all sixty-four cameras (OMG!) are discovered, Light configures how he'll sit at his desk, so as to block the view of the camera while he watches a mini TV hidden in a bag of chips. This way, he looks like he's just snacking while doing his homework, but he's really seeing criminals' names and faces, and writing them in the Notebook.

But, seeing this supposed normalcy really doesn't help L feel better about Light not being Kira. Then, Light enters college, and L is at the commencement ceremony, giving a speech right along with him. L looks so adorably creepy, with his huge bug eyes and the way he won't blink, nor look away from Light. How he manages to be cute and creepy I'll never know. But, L decides to tell Light that he is L. Totally shocked, Light doesn't know what to believe, thinking the real L would never reveal himself to anyone. But, it ties Light's hands behind his back, so that if L were to die suddenly after meeting Light, Light would be under immediate suspicion. Well played, L.

Then, they have a heated tennis match so L can get an idea of just how competitive Light really is. It's pretty intense, and afterward, L gives Light a series of questions meant to trap Light, and they very nearly work. L wants Light to work with his team on the investigation of Kira because, if Light is Kira, then he won't be able to make any moves on the police task force without giving himself away.

Suddenly, it looks as though Light is taking some seriously reckless measures by having Kira hold an entire TV news station hostage with video tapes meant to be broadcast to everyone in the region. Here, Kira proclaims he will create a new utopia where all evil people will be killed, or frightened into submission, and he wants the police to cooperate with him. Only thing is, L does not believe that these are the actions of Kira, but rather a stupider imposter Kira who can kill people without even needing to know their names.

Things are getting SO exciting! It's been a long time since I first got into Death Note, and I don't have the best memory, so this reread is almost as thrilling for me as it was when I first got into this series. This manga series is not to be missed…. show less